Elevated Bridge B/C

[Balsa Man]

when i tested my bridge, the leg of it broke, but the top was still in tact and keeping the bucket off the ground. the judge told me to be done. im wondering if i could have kept going even though my bridge had broke. of course, it had become illegal, but i think it only has to be legal for the original measuring. can anyone help me with this?

Can't quote rules exactly, but I believe what caught you is rule about what happens if bridge sags/collapses. You're correct it has to "be legal" before testing- i.e, not touching outside defined load bearing area (the scribed lines for clearspan). During loading, if anything touches inside those lines - in the zone the bridge is supposed to span, that is defined as a failure; loading stops. I'm guessing that when the leg failed, something came in contact in this zone. Bridge didn't become "illegal", just done.

[fleet130]

Para. 6.g.: "The team members shall add sand to the bucket, until the bridge fails or until the maximum load is reached."

Para. 6.i: Failure is defined as complete breakage of the bridge, or deflection so that the bridge or the Loading Block touches the Test Base within the Clear Span, extends below the top surface of the Test Base, or the bucket rests on the floor.

This could be interpreted differently by different judges. If the leg broke into two separate pieces, it could be considered "complete breakage" or it could be interpreted (as the rules used to say) that failure (complete breakage) is when the bridge is unable to support additional load.

[sewforlife]

Would there be anything besides the bare essentials(balsa wood/bass wood, wood glue, etc.) to build a bridge (for next year? I know I might be a bit too ahead, but since my school didn't make it to nats, we already started to prepare for next year) ?

[croman74]

You might want a knife.

[smartkid222]

wood, glue, and whatever you make your plans, jigs out of.
and yes razor blades.

[sewforlife]

You might want a knife.

thats wat i meant by etc.
anything, like that people wouldn't usually think of?

[sewforlife]

wood, glue, and whatever you make your plans, jigs out of.
and yes razor blades.

sorry for double posting, but what is a jig?

[soobsession]

...is it possible for them to change the rules next year and make it "un-elevated bridge"?

[fleet130]

is it possible for them to change the rules next year and make it "un-elevated bridge"?

Any thing is possible, but highly unlikely.

I haven''t heard of any major problems with Elevated Bridge so I wouldn't expect any major changes. Past practice has been to change the dimensions so the same structures can't be used over again and to fix problems in the language of the rules.

If you want to practice over the summer, my best guess would be to continue using this year's rules until something better comes along. Anything you learn should be almost 100% transferable.

[croman74]

wood, glue, and whatever you make your plans, jigs out of.
and yes razor blades.

sorry for double posting, but what is a jig?

A jig is what you use to put your bridge together. I can't really explain much, I don't use one.